Team Herald
sports@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: While the Indian Super League season 7 has been a thriller with FC Goa remaining unbeaten in their last 12 games to keep them in a hunt for the playoffs as the final phase began, thousands of miles away another Goan team -- Churchill Brothers FC Goa have been at their best and are enjoying their I-League campaign.
In their nine games so far, the Red Machines have recorded five wins and four draws -- to maintain their nine-game unbeaten run which has taken them to the summit of the I-league standings. Churchill Brothers are on 19 points, two points above second placed Real Kashmir who are also unbeaten in the league in this edition. Last season, CBFC finished in the second half of the table but that was not what their president would ever expect.
Everyone in Goa knows Churchill Alemao and his love for football and his team. With a desire and aim to settle nothing less but the I-League title, Churchill Alemao reconstructed the team giving charge to Spaniard Fernando Varela, who didn’t waste time in structuring the team according to his preference.
However, Churchill Brothers FC Goa are always known for their strikers. Odafa Onyeka Okolie has been the best foreign player to ever play for the club and with the statement the Nigerian made at the club, it has set a benchmark for the strikers in I-League.
But for a club like Churchill Brothers, the striking force has remained to be their identity. Over the years the club had successfully managed to rope in many, but this year it’s their best striking pair of Clayvin Zuniga and Luka Majcen, which has tormented the rival defence and revived their hopes of the third title.
Both Zuniga and Luka made instant mark for the Red Machines and scored five goals apiece of their team's 12 goals.
The duo never failed to step up during the crucial moments, though they had bad days. Defensively they have found Hamza Kheir, a man who has been rock solid for the Red Machines. The team conceded just four goals, the least among all the teams in the team. This season, the Red Machines look more compact and stronger as a unit and are heading in the right direction. What they might need to tweak is their finishing a bit, and there wouldn’t be any force stopping them from lifting the crown.